Good Night, and Good Luck.
"We will not walk in fear of one another."
The story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.
Top Cast
-
David Strathairn
Edward R. Murrow
-
Patricia Clarkson
Shirley Wershba
-
George Clooney
Fred Friendly
-
Jeff Daniels
Sig Mickelson
-
Robert Downey Jr.
Joe Wershba
-
Frank Langella
William Paley
-
Ray Wise
Don Hollenbeck
-
Robert John Burke
Charlie Mack
-
Reed Diamond
John Aaron
Overview
The story of journalist Edward R. Murrow's stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch-hunts in the early 1950s.
Rating
7.1
/ 10
1,110 Reviews 2 Popular
1 Reviews
-
CinemaSerf7 May 8, 2024There's a brief clip at the start of "Sink the Bismarck" (1960) that illustrates the impact of Edward R. Murrow's potent and succinct style of broadcasting that eventually led to him receiving an award from his peers at the beginning of this film. It's his acceptance speech that sets the tone for a retrospective that focuses on his time attempting to stand up for the civil liberties of many American people during the investigations by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Minnesota into the alleged infiltration of just about all aspects of society by communists and their allies. David Strathairn delivers one of his best performances here as the man whose stance earns him plaudits from some quarters, but enmity from others who accuse him of being an appeaser - or worse. Determined, he nevertheless becomes dependant on the good will of his network chief executive (Frank Langella) and stalwart producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) as he issues a challenge to the politician and risks his career. In many ways these men had similarities of character. The use of archive footage of McCarthy and the pieces-to-camera from Strathairn offers us two contrasting styles, attitudes and sets of beliefs and though clearly the editorial is pro-Murrow, it still allows us to experience and evaluate some of the frenzy that prevailed at the time when the cold war was very much at it's height. Director Clooney uses a documentary style of intense monochrome photography to quite chillingly expose us to the perils of free reporting at a time when swimming agains a tide that would stop at nothing to rubbish it's opponents was no small gamble. It packs lots to think about into ninety minutes and emphasises the still quite dangerous scenarios that dogma coupled with a strong cult of personality can deliver to an unwitting population.
Trailers & Clips
Recommendations
Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.
Quiz Show
7.3 1994
The career of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is halted by a witch hunt in the late 1940s when he defies the anti-communist HUAC committee and is blacklisted.
Trumbo
7.2 2015
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
The House on Carroll Street
5.9 1988
An award-winning cynical journalist, Lloyd Vogel, begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write an Esquire profile piece on the beloved television icon Fred Rogers. After his encounter with Rogers, Vogel's perspective on life is transformed.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
7.0 2019
A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.
The Post
7.0 2017
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Radium Girls
6.7 2020
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
The Scarlet and the Black
7.0 1983
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Munich - The Edge of War
6.9 2021
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
6.4 2017
Lyndon B. Johnson's amazing 11-month journey from taking office after JFK's assassination, through the fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his own presidential campaign, culminating on the night LBJ is actually elected to the office – no longer the 'accidental President.'
All the Way
6.7 2016